Computer Related > Transfering video clips from digital cameras Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Chris S Replies: 9
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 08:58 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - Chris S
My old-fashioned camera has broken and I'm going to replace it with a digital one.

From what I understand most digital cameras have some video capacity but how easy is it to transfer this to a laptop?

Is it normally done using the memory card or do you need some sort of USB device and software?
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 09:06 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - FocalPoint
I haven't done this, but can't imagine it's different from transferring photos. You either link the camera to your computer (the camera should come with a USB cable) or put its memory card into a card reader - which may in fact be built in to your computer. Then copy the relevant file across.

Quite possibly the camera will come with dedicated software on a disk and, once installed,this may make the transfer even more user-friendly.
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 09:09 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - Fenlander
We never load the supplied camera software as it's just another bloat on the system.

Make a folder wherever you like and the video files will transfer across (drag and drop) just like any other file either by using the camera's USB lead or plugging its memory card into the laptop.

Double click to play and you're away.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 10 Nov 10 at 09:11
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 09:36 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - lancara
Yes, they just download via cable or card-reader similar to still photos
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 09:45 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - lancara
P.S. Before buying it's worthwhile trying to get a "hands on". I find that taking videos with a still camera, compact or dslr, is difficult as you are holding the camera away from you to see the monitor rather than holding up to the eye.
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 10:02 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - rtj70
My camera lets you see the image when recording video through the view finder. So lancara's statement is not true of all still cameras. It is usually true of most DSLR cameras because the mirror needs to be up for light to fall on the sensor and therefore an image cannot be seen via the prism in the view finder.

As for the transfer process, it will also depend on the type of video file created. My camera can create motion JPEG and AVCHD format videos. The former is just a matter of copying the file of the camera (via USB or use the SD Card) but the latter needs some extra processing to make it useable.

The AVCHD format is similar to how data on a DVD is structured so there's more to it than just the video file itself. Video software will probably recognise and import these files automatically if you connect the camera or card to the computer and select import (iMovie on the Mac does this). But I manually copy the files over and convert the files to MPEG4 using Handbrake and I keep the originals too.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 10 Nov 10 at 10:02
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 10:11 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - Zero
I use a bridge camera, that is looks and feels like a DSLR with a proper WYSIWYG viewfinder, but no mirror to flip up.

As others say, you just plug the camera or its card into your pc, and drag and drop the files.

The free MS Movie maker is a good basic editor, and you can output to DVD for your home dvd player.

It really is a doddle these days.
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New Wed 10 Nov 10 11:52 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - Iffy
...It really is a doddle these days...

The biggest problem is choosing which of the half dozen pre-loaded programmes on your computer to use to open the pics/video.

My camera advises using the SD card rather than the cable, even though one was supplied.

I believe problems can occur if the camera battery conks out during a cable transfer, so make sure there's plenty of poke in the battery if that's the method you decide to use.

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New Fri 12 Nov 10 14:52 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - Bagpuss
With my Digicam I plug the camera into the USB slot of my laptop and use Windows Explorer to drag and drop the video file on to the hard disk. The video files, in common with all the Digicams I've used recently, are stored in a folder called "AVCHD" and the still camera shots in a folder called "DCIM".

Tried the software supplied with the camera but ended up deinstalling it due to it having some really annoying features.
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New Fri 12 Nov 10 16:17 
 Transfering video clips from digital cameras - rtj70
>> folder called "AVCHD"

The actual video files in the AVCHD folder will be under:

AVHCDBDMVSTREAM

and have a .MTS extension. These are MPEG4 files. The folder structure that looks complicated allows devices such as TVs play these video files. The system is very similar to the structure used on DVDs.
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